As we are the first human rights center at a business school in Europe, the education of future managers is part of our core mission. Through research, teaching, and establishing networks of business scholars, we advance our human rights agenda at business schools and prepare the next generation of graduates to manage human rights challenges in corporate practice.
Our Case Studies are written primarily for teaching purposes with pedagogical objectives. However, they also demonstrate that integrating human rights in business is indeed possible and, under specific conditions, compatible with broader business objectives.
Teaching
We teach business and human rights at the University of Geneva in the bachelor’s and master’s program.
Learn more about the courses we offer at the Geneva School of Economics and Management.
Check out the following GSEM Programs:
Bachelor in Economics and Management
Master of Science in Responsible Management
Master of Science in Commodity Trading
Business and Human Rights Clinic
Introducing the first Business and Human Rights Clinic!
The Business and Human Rights Clinic presents an opportunity for students to gain practical experience on corporate engagement with human rights.
Its objective is to explore implementation strategies for human rights in corporate practice.
GBSN for BHR Impact Community
In 2016, the Geneva School of Economics and Management co-founded a network of business schools that advance human rights in business education. The Global Business School Network for Business and Human Rights Impact Community (GBSN for BHR) comprises over 160 business schools from around the world. A key resource is the Toolkit (PDF): “Educating Future Leaders - Integrating Human Rights into Business Education”.
The International Labour Organization (ILO), GBSN, and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have joined forces on the inclusion of labor rights in global business school education. In 2022, the ILO, GBSN, and UNIGE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen our collaboration on business and human rights education. We have developed a comprehensive toolbox of open-access teaching resources to equip business schools with accurate and relevant material to teach 21st century management skills to their students.
Resources: https://gbsn.org/ilo-gbsn-unige-teaching-resources/
Young Researchers Summit
We support emerging scholars in the business and human rights field. We are co-founders of the Business and Human Rights Young Researchers Summit, an academic conference for PhD students and postdocs that takes place in turn in St. Gallen, Geneva and New York. Our network of emerging BHR scholars comprises over 100 young scholars.
The 10th Business and Human Rights Young Researchers Summit took place in St. Gallen on Sept. 4-5, 2025.
Case studies
The case study series of the GCBHR shows how real companies currently address human rights. The case studies capture the motivations for business model transformation, the ongoing implementation challenges, and the impact that has been achieved for rightsholders to date.
These case studies are not endorsements of companies. Instead, they highlight the complexities surrounding the advancement of human rights in practice for companies operating across different industries. They are written for illustrative purposes and demonstrate that integrating human rights in business is indeed possible and compatible with broader business objectives. We hope that these pioneering attempts to align profits and principles are inspirational for other companies.
Textbook
Dorothée Baumann-Pauly co-edited Business and Human Rights: From Principles to Practice (2016), the first-ever textbook on business and human rights. A follow-up volume focused on the implementation challenges for business and human rights in corporate practice is planned for 2025/26.
Selected case studies
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The case focuses on Decathlon, Europe’s biggest outdoor and sports retailer. It examines how the company is adjusting its business model to align growth and profits with positive social impact…
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This case study describes and discusses the approach that ABN AMRO has adopted in its relationships with clients who are associated with the palm oil sector.
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This case study analyzes a transformational business model for sourcing natural rubber, developed by the French sneaker company Veja.
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The case study highlights the need for companies to support the formalization of artisanal cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to address human rights abuses and ensure…
Featured events
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This toolkit aims to support scholars and educators to institutionalize a human rights perspective in their schools’ curricula.
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Organized in collaboration with the UN Global Compact Network Switzerland and Liechtenstein, these workshops explore the link between procurement practices and human rights impacts, emphasizing the crucial role of procurement…
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Applications for the Business and Human Rights Clinic are open! Interested companies can send us their challenge on a rolling basis.